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Oklahoma House panel to consider drought relief fund

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma House panel is set to consider a proposal that would create a statewide emergency drought relief fund.

The House Appropriations and Budget Committee is scheduled Wednesday to look at a bill from Oklahoma City Republican Rep. Dale Dewitt that would put the fund on the books.

The bill calls for at least $10 million to be available for relevant state agencies at the discretion of the governor in the event of a drought disaster.

The proposal follows the worst drought in decades and several declarations of drought disasters across the Midwest. Exceptional drought persists in the nation’s midsection, and climatologists say it could continue at least through the spring.